


Claustrophobia

by melremade



Series: Closet Space [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward teenage crushes, Eventual Smut, F/M, Lots of blushing, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-08 14:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11648499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melremade/pseuds/melremade
Summary: Two teenagers, one storage closet. What could go wrong?





	1. Confined Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally an OC, but I wanted to try my hand at a reader-insert so I've gone through and edited it. I'm curious about what people like more and hope I got it right since I've never written in this POV before!

“Suga!” you yelled from the other end of the hallway and both the boy in question and the much taller boy he was with stopped to turn around and see who was calling for the grey-haired setter. A warm smile quickly appeared on his face when he saw that it was you who had shouted for him as you raced down the hall in their direction, pushing past the few remaining students who hadn’t moved to make room for you.

“Slow down,” Sugawara told you with a laugh at your urgency once you reached them, having skidded to a halt with a wide grin.

“Ah, sorry. I just wanted to catch you before you left,” you apologized, sheepishly scratching the back of your head.

“No, it’s fine,” Sugawara assured you with a dismissive wave and you turned your attention to his teammate.

“Azumane-kun, do you mind if I borrow Suga for a bit?” you asked the kindhearted ace. “I know you have practice but it won’t take long.”

“Yeah, sure. Take as much time as you need,” Asahi smiled, giving Sugawara a friendly and encouraging look that made the setter blush and feel thankful that you were already digging in your backpack and had managed to miss the interaction entirely.

“Thanks, I’ll be right behind you,” Sugawara replied hastily, all but pushing his friend down the hallway towards the exit in an effort to make him go away as quickly as possible. Asahi sent him one more supportive look over his shoulder before leaving you two alone.

“Oh, here it is!” you exclaimed, finally pulling a DVD case out of your bag and holding it out for him to take. He did so, looking over the cover of the movie that you had been raving about the other day before flipping it over to read the summary on the back. “You said you hadn’t seen it and that was something that I couldn’t let stand. Plus, it’s my favorite movie and I’d love to hear what you think about it...”

“It’s gonna be the first thing I do when I get home,” Sugawara promised you eagerly, carefully tucking the DVD into his bag and your features lit up excitedly.

“Then we can talk about it tomorrow?” you asked hopefully and he quickly nodded. “Good.”

“Good,” he repeated and the two of you continued to look at each other with large, slightly stupid smiles on your faces—neither of you sure what to say next but also not ready to say goodbye _just_ yet.

However, the moment was shattered when a voice called out your name and while Sugawara’s expression was one of mild curiosity at who was looking for you, yours quickly morphed into one of exaggerated horror. Before Sugawara could turn around to look in the direction of the voice, you had taken hold of his arm tightly, wrapping yourself around it, and began to pull him in the opposite direction.

“Quick, act like you don’t hear him,” you hissed at him, too focused on escaping your pursuer to see the startled look on Sugawara’s face.

“What?” he asked, turning his head to look behind him only for you to squeeze his arm in a warning for him not to do so.

“[Surname]-chan!” the voice called out again and you gradually quickened your pace, attempting to make it less obvious.

“Pretend like I said something funny!” you told him. “Make it look like we’re not paying attention!”

“But—”

“Laugh!” you ordered, cutting him off, and he forced out a fake laugh, trying to make it loud enough so the person following you would hear and cringed slightly as he did so. As you reached the end of the hallway and just before rounding the corner, Sugawara glanced behind him and furrowed his brow as he recognized the third year attempting to catch you.

“Yamamoto-san?” he asked in confusion and you sighed as you led them up the stairs to the immediate right instead of following the hallway you had just turned into. The floor you were now on was empty, most students having rushed to escape the confines of the school once the final bell rang.

“Yeah,” you sighed and looked up at him apologetically, finally slowing down now that you were no longer in the other teen’s sights. “Sorry about that. I’m just trying to avoid him.”

“Why?” he responded and you let go of his arm with another heavy sigh as you walked side-by-side down the hall.

“I agreed to design a flyer for him for the soccer club since he’s the captain. They’re having this fundraising thing in a couple of weeks and he asked if I could help out,” you explained before coming to a stop and facing him fully as he copied your action. A guilty look appeared on your face. “He’s just been a little high maintenance about it but I feel bad telling him to stop bugging me since he’s also been really nice. I mean, it’s for their club so it’s not his fault he wants it to look perfect, you know?”

Sugawara smiled softly in understanding and you returned it for a moment before facing forwards and beginning to walk down the hall again. He looked after you fondly as he walked a few steps behind you.

“Also, I think he wants to ask me out,” you grumbled and Sugawara tripped over his own feet slightly, his smile instantly falling at the unexpected piece of information.

“...are you gonna say yes?” he managed to ask after a tense pause and he flinched as he heard the slightly nervous waiver in his voice.

“I mean...I don’t _want_ to, but I’m not very good at telling people no. Hence how I’ve ended up designing their flyer in the first place,” you sighed in resignation, looking back at him over your shoulder. “Anytime I think he’s about to get up the courage to ask me out or he tries to steer the conversation towards it I just suddenly change the topic.”

Sugawara let out a laugh and you grinned back at him.

“Have you also been running away from him before he can catch you?” he asked in amusement, making you giggle slightly and you slowed down so that he could reach your side and you fell into step together.

“No, this is the first time I’ve tried that,” you answered with a teasing smile. “So far it seems to be working.”

As Sugawara opened his mouth to reply, you both froze as you heard the rushed sound of footsteps from the stairway you had just walked up. Both of you looked behind you in horror as you realized you hadn’t gotten away.

“[Surname]-chan!” Yamamoto’s voice could be heard and you let out a squeak before grabbing Sugawara’s hand and yanking him after you as you ran. You raced around the hallway’s corner only to come to a halt, making Sugawara skid into you at the sudden stop.

“Keep going!” Sugawara insisted, gently pushing you from behind and you shook your head as you looked around the hallway.

“He’ll catch us!” you hissed before your eyes landed on a door that was labeled as a storage closet and your face lit up as an idea sprang to mind. “We need to hide!”

“[Surname]-chan! I just wanna talk about the flyer!” Yamamoto shouted, sounding much closer.

“Where?” Sugawara asked, glancing in the direction of the soccer captain’s voice and missing how your attention had turned to the door on the right. Without a moment’s hesitation, you lunged for the doorknob, pulling it open and revealing a small closet—probably only a few feet deep and only a few feet more wide. There were a couple of brooms leaning against one of the corners, but otherwise it was empty.

It would be cramped, but it would do.

“Get in!” you hissed, shoving Sugawara in before you, and he cried out in surprise at the sudden action. You hurried in after him, turning back around and grabbing onto the doorknob again so that you could pull it closed.

“W-wait—” Sugawara began but before he could continue, it was already shut. You were pressed firmly to the door, your ear against the wood as you attempted to make out any sounds.

“Shhh,” you quietly told Sugawara when he let out a quiet whimper before turning your attention back to Yamamoto, whose voice was now loud enough that he was probably only right around the corner. You heard his footsteps growing closer and felt yourself tense as he turned down the hallway and come to a stop right outside the closet.

“[Surname]-chan?” you heard him ask hesitantly, clearly confused about where you had gone. As he stood there, you grew more anxious with each passing second. All he had to do was open the door and _then_ what would you do? How would you ever explain why you were hiding if he found them? You could imagine the dejected look he would give you, before attempting to assure you that it was fine and that he was sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. God, the guilt was already eating away at you.

However, your worries seemed ill-founded because he sighed heavily and the sound of his footsteps began to return in the direction they came. He seemed to have given up and once he had gotten far enough away, you gave your own sigh as you rested your forehead against the door in relief and smiled to yourself.

“Okay, good. He’s gone,” you murmured, straightening yourself out and turning the doorknob while pushing the door. You grew confused when the door didn’t open, your head tilting to the side and your brow furrowing. “Hm, that’s odd.”

“[Name]?” Sugawara asked and you noted that his voice sounded slightly off.

“The door won’t open,” you explained, attempting to push it open harder this time. When it didn’t budge, you made to take a step back, only to be pulled back lightly. You looked down to see what had caused the small tug and found that your yellow sweater vest had managed to get caught by the latch of the door knob. “Oh, oops.”

“[Name]?” Sugawara repeated and you could hear a slight hint of panic in his tone. You looked over your shoulder and there was just enough light streaming in from the crack between the door and its frame that you were able to make out his appearance and what you saw had your eyes widening. The normally affable-looking boy’s face had gone completely pale and mild panic had taken the place of his usual smile while his hands were tightly clutching onto the strap of his bag.

“Suga! What’s wrong?” you asked, brows furrowed. You tried to turn around to face him but were unable to do so with your sweater still stuck. You could only continue to look at him over your shoulder.

“I’m a bit claustrophobic. But it’s nothing to worry about!” he explained with a wide smile that was clearly forced. He waved a dismissive hand in an attempt to downplay his rapidly growing sense of panic. “I’ll be fine once we get out of here.”

You wilted with guilt as you realized the situation you had just put Sugawara in.

“Um, about that…” you began weakly. “My sweater got caught in the door and now it’s jammed and we can’t get out.”

Your words came out in a rush, the speed so quick that they were almost tripping over one another, and the silence that followed was almost oppressive.

“We’re stuck?” he finally asked, his voice a whimper. “Okay, that’s fine. It’s no big deal. We’re just stuck...here...in this very small closet.”

“Suga—”

“Are you feeling a bit hot? It’s hot in here. I don’t think it’s properly ventilated,” he started to ramble as he tugged on his shirt collar. You tried tugging on your sweater harder in a futile effort to free it and open the door.

“Suga—”

“Why does the room look like it’s getting smaller? That’s not possible. Right? Is that possible?” His voice was beginning to shake and you gave up on trying to free your sweater. Dropping your bag to the floor, you crouched down and removed your arms from the sweater before doing the same with your head and standing back up.

Your sweater hung from the door where it was stuck and your hair was now slightly mussed after freeing yourself from the vest. Quickly brushing the strands from your face, you turned around and finally faced Sugawara fully. You closed the few feet between the two of you and gently laid your hands on his shoulders.

“Suga, Suga, Suga. Take a deep breathe,” you ordered him gently, cutting him off before he could begin another round of frantic questions. The grey-haired boy sharply inhaled and held his breathe for a long moment before releasing it in a long and slow exhale. “Don’t worry. This isn’t a big deal. Do you have your phone? I left mine at home but if you’ve got yours then we can just call someone.”

Your suggestion seemed to ease his anxiety and the relief was clear on his face.

“Right. Good idea,” he agreed with a nervous laugh, his hand diving into his bag to pull out his phone. “We can just call someone. Why didn’t I think of that? We’ll just call someone and they’ll come get us.”

However, the smile that had been slowly growing on his face quickly froze as he looked down at the screen of his phone and saw that it was dead. The usually calm boy let out a strangled cry as he began to repeatedly hit the phone’s home button, hoping that it was just being slow.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay,” you reassured him soothingly with a gentle smile, your hand coming up and covering his to still his attempts to wake up his phone. You leant over and picked up your bag, your free hand reaching into it and you began digging around. “I have my phone charger and there’s an outlet in here. No need to worry!”

You nodded your head at the outlet at the bottom of the wall to the right and relief washed over his face yet again, his shoulders drooping as the tension drained from them. After a few moments, you pulled out your charger victoriously and held it up as he simultaneously proffered his phone. You both froze as you held the objects side-by-side and realized that his phone and your charger were two separate brands.

There was a beat of silence.

“Oh,” you finally let out, your head tilting at the misfortune and your utterance seemed to snap him from his stupor.

“[Name]!” Sugawara cried out loudly, clutching onto his phone tightly and beginning to panic once again. His free hand went to his hair and clutched the grey strands desperately. You quickly dropped your charger and your bag to the floor carelessly.

“Suga. Just breathe okay? Just breathe,” you directed, breathing deeply and gesturing your hands up and down slowly in time with your breaths to demonstrate that he should follow along. It took a few moments but he eventually began to try and imitate your breathing pattern. “Okay, good. Keep doing that. You’re doing great.”

The deep breaths seemed to be working as his grip on his hair eased before his hand fell to his side. You cautiously took a few steps towards him to close the gap separating you, making sure to over exaggerate your movements so as not to take him by surprise.

“I’m gonna take your bag alright?” you asked and he nodded through his breathing exercises.

You slowly reached towards him and carefully took ahold of the strap across his chest and lifted it an inch at a time until it was over his head. Once he was no longer carrying its weight, you gently set it onto the ground next to your own bag. You then took the phone from his hand with movements just as cautious, gently tugging when his hold remained tight and his death grip on the object slowly loosened before letting go entirely. You knelt down and slipped the phone into his bag before standing back up.

His breathing had become a bit calmer as it began to even out and he had closed his eyes a few moments ago. You internally sighed in relief as he appeared to have come down from the heights of his phobia. You looked him over and noticed the white t-shirt that was peeking out from the top of his button-up shirt. Noting that the extra layer with its constricting material couldn’t be helping, you slowly brought your fingers up to the topmost button and undid it. Your fingers skimmed against his chest as you slowly moved onto the following button and his eyes shot open at the sensation.

“Wh-what are you doing?” he stuttered, a blush slowly forming on his face. His brown eyes were wide as he looked down at you and you glanced up at him before turning your attention back to you task. You couldn’t help but be amused at his reaction and bit your lip to keep from grinning. Well, at least if he was focusing on you and what you were doing then it meant he wasn’t focusing on the small closet. This Sugawara was much more preferable to the one who had worried you by being on the brink of a full-fledged anxiety attack. “[Name]?”

“Taking off your shirt. It’ll help if you don’t feel so restricted by it. Just your undershirt should make you feel a bit better,” you explained softly as you continued your actions and he audibly swallowed when he felt your breath on his neck as you spoke. He nodded to show he understood, but he tensed as you undid the button above his stomach. Your fingers slowly trailed against him and he was suddenly extremely aware of how close you were standing and of the thin material of the undershirt that was separating your fingers from his skin.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of you doing this exact thing to him before. After all, you were pretty, he was a teenage boy, and he did have a rather large crush on you. It certainly didn’t help that you had a habit of leaning forward at your desk during class to whisper to the friend who sat ahead of you. How far forward you were required to lean out of your seat in order to cross the distance to reach your friend, along with the shortness of your skirt, as well as his own seat diagonally behind you, had always given him a view that left him blushing every time.

He quickly pushed away the images his mind was rapidly conjuring up—of you leaning up and kissing him, of your lips following the path of your fingers, of your hands moving just _a little_ further down, of you dropping to your knees in front of him—before he could dwell on them.

He swallowed nervously as your fingers skimmed above his belt buckle, you fingers gripping onto the fabric of his shirt. When you began to gently pull his shirt from where it was tucked into his trousers he looked upwards desperately, trying to distract his mind from the compromising position you were in. However, it was proving an impossible task as the top of your head reached to just below his nose and all he could smell was your tropical scented shampoo. His face felt like it was on fire; he could feel himself blushing all the way to his ears. He was certain his heart was beating so loudly that you could hear its rapid pace.

Once his shirt had been pulled free, you went to undo the final button. He could feel the tips of your fingers moving against his lower stomach and he couldn’t help the strangled sound that came from his throat. You looked up at him through your lashes with a grin.

“You alright, Suga?” you asked with a hint of teasing in your voice, letting him know that you were aware of—and incredibly amused by—what had caused his reaction.

“Y-yes,” he squeaked out, internally cringing at how high his voice was and blushing all over again. His shirt now unbuttoned, you ran your hands underneath it and slid them lightly up his stomach and chest to his shoulders where you pushed his shirt open further and slipped it down his arms until it fell to the floor at his feet. You then took his hands and brought them together where you clasped hers over his and rested your chin on them.

“See? Doesn’t that help?” you asked and he nodded at the fact that despite his accelerated heart rate at your actions, it did seem a bit easier to breathe now that he was only wearing one layer. You smiled brightly at him in return and as usual your smile was instantly infectious.

“Don’t worry, Suga. We won’t be in here much longer,” you reassured him, feeling a lot lighter as the smile you were so used to finally appeared on his face, causing his eyes to crinkle. “You told Azumane-kun that you’d be right behind him, yeah? Your team’ll notice when you’re missing at practice and come looking for you! It’ll probably be, like, another ten minutes. Ten minutes _at the most_. You can do that, right? Just ten minutes?”

“Yeah, ten minutes. I can do that. Just ten minutes,” he repeated calmly and you squeezed his hands between yours with another smile.

* * *

An hour later and Sugawara’s composure had deteriorated back into panic. As time had stretched on and no one had found you, he had grown more and more anxious at the idea that you would be trapped in this small closet forever. His hair was in even more disarray as he had grabbed onto it frantically multiple times while spouting off more and more outlandish scenarios about how they would die in this closet.

At some point he had slid down the wall of the closet that was facing the door. His arms were trapped between his chest and his knees were pulled up to it. Both of his hands were tightly holding onto one of yours. You had followed him to sit by his side, worried that if you sat anywhere else the small space would cause your legs to tangle with his and emphasize how little room there was for the two of you to fit comfortably. And although you certainly weren’t panicking like him, you knew that you didn’t look much better.

Sugawara had been right when he had first asked if the room was growing hotter, because the closet’s ventilation was non-existent. You were certainly flushed and could feel the beads of sweat that had formed at the base of your neck and your attempts to hold your hair off your skin and cool yourself down had only served to make it messier. Your bowtie had been done away with and shoved into your backpack a while ago so that you could unbutton as much of your shirt as could be considered decent; although you were sure that by this point Sugawara was so anxious that you could have taken off your shirt entirely and he wouldn’t even notice.

Suddenly, your head straightened from where it had been leaning back against the wall and you sat very still, unsure of what you had heard and waiting to see if you had just imagined it. But a few seconds later you heard it again, much louder this time—footsteps. Someone was coming down the hallway. Sugawara seemed to have heard it as well because he shot up from the floor, dropping your hand and beginning to bang on the door with his fist. You quickly copied his actions.

“Help!” he cried out frantically. “We’re stuck!”

The footsteps instantly stopped—the person clearly surprised by the sudden shouts and bangings—before they resumed their movements at a much faster pace.

“Suga-san?!” the voice called back. “We’ve been looking for you! You didn’t show up to practice and Asahi-san said you were shouldn’t have been gone this long.”

“Yamaguchi, we’re stuck! Get us out of here!” Sugawara’s pleas were desperate and the doorknob began to jiggle around as Sugawara’s teammate attempted to open the door from the outside.

“It won’t budge!” was the reply after a few tries and Sugawara let out a sound of frustration as he buried his hands in his hair. You gently laid a hand on his back and began to rub it in soothing circles.

“Yamaguchi-san?” you called hesitantly out and there was a pause of what seemed to be surprise at the fact that Sugawara was trapped in a closet with a girl. After a moment, he made a sound of affirmation encouraging you to continue. “I’m [Surname] [Name]. Can you go to the faculty room and tell someone that we’re stuck? We need a janitor or someone who can get the door open.”

“Yeah, yeah! I’ll go get Takeda-sensei! He’ll know what to do,” he told you and you breathed an internal sigh of relief. Before Yamaguchi could leave, you called out to him one more time.

“And then can you get Sawamura-kun or Azumane-kun?” you requested, glancing over at the grey-haired boy by your side who was attempting to take deep, calming breaths. “Suga has a bit of a tough time with small spaces.”

“Of course! Don’t worry. I’ll be right back with everyone. It’ll be fine, Suga-san!” Yamaguchi assured his teammate before he could be heard running off in the direction that he had come from.

“See, Suga? No need to worry. Yamaguchi-san is gonna bring help. They’ll be here soon. You’re gonna be fine,” you smiled at him, bringing your hand to his shoulder and gently turning him to face you. “It won’t be much longer.”

Your words seemed to have little impact as his breathing sped up and you realized that the fact that help was so close had only made him more desperate to get out of the closet.

“Oh god,” he breathed out. “It’s so small in here. How much longer are they gonna be?”

“Hey, don’t think about it. Think of something else, yeah? Volleyball! Why don’t you tell me about how practice has been going? Kiyoko-chan told me that you’re having some sort of training thing coming up soon right? In Tokyo?”

Sugawara nodded quickly, his eyes looking around wildly at his surroundings, which seemed to be growing smaller with each passing second.

“Yeah yeah. In Tokyo. Training camp,” he stuttered out, attempting to answer your questions and distract himself from the walls that were enclosing upon him.

“I hope you get a chance to bring me back a souvenir. I expect something really nice—something you can only get in Tokyo!” you teased with a forced smile, attempting to distract him with your rambling.

“What’s taking them so long?” he asked helplessly, his hands still tightly gripping onto his hair and unable to follow your line of conversation. “They should be here by now, shouldn’t they?”

His breathing was growing faster and faster, shallower and shallower, and you worried that he was going to begin hyperventilating if he didn’t calm down.

“Suga, deep breaths! Take _deep breaths_ ,” you instructed, unable to keep the worry out of your voice.

“Are you having trouble breathing? Because I am. Why am I having trouble breathing?” he babbled, unable to focus enough to follow your advice.

“Suga…” you murmured, the concern and uncertainty for his wellbeing etched onto your features.

Desperate to help him and with no other idea coming to mind, you reached up and cupped his cheeks before pulling his face down, bringing his lips to yours. Sugawara immediately froze, clearly not expecting your actions and that had been exactly what you had been hoping for. His grip on his hair slackened as your lips began to move against his until his hands eventually fell uselessly down to his sides.

Your left thumb stroked his cheek gently while your right hand slid to the back of his neck where your fingers gently entwined themselves in his soft, grey hair. You lightly scraped your nails against his scalp soothingly and an involuntary shiver went down his spine. You slowly pulled away, leaving a hair’s width between faces. You could feel his labored breaths against your lips but took comfort in the fact that they had significantly slowed down. With a small smile, your eyelids fluttered shut before closing the gap between your lips again.

It took another moment of your lips on his before he began to return the kiss hesitantly. His senses seemed to have returned to him—at least partially—because he slowly raised his hands to your waist and when you felt their weight as he held onto you tightly, you unconsciously moved even closer to him so that your body was fully pressed to his. You softly sighed in contentment and the sound seemed to encourage him because the kiss began to grow deeper.

He hesitantly slipped his tongue past your lips and slowly moved it over yours. The movements were a little clumsy, but neither of you seemed to care. You could hear your heart beating in your ears as a warmth began to grow in the pit of your stomach, slowly unfurling until it reached the tips of your fingers and the tips of your toes. For you, everything that wasn’t Sugawara and how he was kissing you in this moment seemed to have faded away and judging from how tightly he was holding onto you, as well as how eager his kisses were, he seemed to be feeling the same.

Sugawara eventually pulled away, needing to catch his breath, but you wouldn’t let a moment go to waste. You moved your lips to his cheek as you kissed your way up to his ear before gently biting his earlobe, producing another shiver from him when you lightly nibbled on it. After a few moments, you released his earlobe to trail featherlight kisses down his jaw until your lips reached his neck, where you began to gently suck on the skin you found in between kisses. The sound he made had you smiling and you doubled your efforts as he unconsciously tilted his head to give you easier access, his fingers gripping onto the material of your shirt at your waist tightly.

Once he seemed to have caught his breath, your lips eagerly left Sugawara’s neck to meet his own again. Eager to taste your skin the way you had just tasted his, he soon broke the kiss and leaned a bit further down so that his nose could skim along your jaw and gently nudged your face to the side. Seeming to understand what his goal was, you leaned up on your toes as you caught your bottom lip with your teeth and the hand that had been on his cheek slid down to his shoulder.

When his lips reached the spot right behind your ear, the fingers that had been entwined in his hair tightened their grip and you reflexively arched your back, causing your breasts to press more firmly against him. His lips moved a few centimeters further down and even _you_ were surprised by your reaction as you gasped and your toes curled in your shoes at just _how. good._ it felt. Your response only served to spur him on and you found herself humming softly at the sensation.

Your impulsive plan to distract him had clearly been an instant success, proven by the fact that neither of you heard the frantic running down the hallway. It was only when the doorknob began to jiggle forcefully that you both froze and instantly jumped as far apart as the cramped space would allow with identical gasps.

“Suga?! [Name]-chan! Are you okay?!” a voice called out and when you recognized it as Daichi’s you let out a sigh of relief as your heart began to slow down from how quickly it was racing. However, when another voice followed—one that was too young to be a faculty member, but wasn’t Yamaguchi—your eyes widened.

“Suga-san! Your favorite kouhai have come to rescue you!” the second voice cried victoriously.

“Are you both alright?” That was Asahi, you were sure.

“We should break down the door!” Your eye twitched as a fourth voice eagerly joined the fray.

You had told Yamaguchi to bring Daichi _or_ Asahi. Not both and certainly not the whole damn team.

...well, he had said he’d bring _everyone_. Maybe this was on you.

“Sugawara, answer us!” Another voice, clearly not a student but you didn’t recognize it as the Japanese literature teacher. The janitor maybe?

“Yes, yes! We’re fine!” Sugawara finally replied after clearing his throat, also clearly taken aback by how many people were in the hallway. “We’d just like to get out of here…”

You noticed the fact that his gaze was firmly focused on the door, pointedly avoiding making eye contact with you and you fought the urge to giggle at his sudden shyness.

“Takeda-sensei said he’d find the janitor. It shouldn’t be too much longer!” Ah, and there was Yamaguchi rounding out the peanut gallery.

“Suga-san! I’m so proud of you! Locked in a closet _with a girl_?! I didn’t know you had it in you!”

...or not, as a seventh— _seventh!_ —voice chimed in.

A scuffle could quickly be heard from the other side of the door.

“I apologize for my kouhai, [Surname]-san,” Daichi’s forceful voice came next and a slightly pained gasp followed.

“Please forgive me for my rudeness, [Surname]-san! Suga-san!” the teammate who had presumably just been scolded cried out.

“It’s fine,” you managed to mumble through your embarrassment.

“We’re here!” A sigh of relief escaped both of you as you heard the voice of the Japanese literature teacher and faculty advisor call out from down the hallway.

“Oh thank god,” you heard Sagawara whisper as he closed his eyes and dropped his head back, the tension quickly beginning to drain from him. You gave him a smile and rested your hand on his shoulder, causing him to crack open an eye and look at you before he returned your smile with one of his own.

“Sugawara-kun, [Surname]-chan, I’ve got the janitor here with me! He’ll have you out in no time!” Takeda reassured you cheerfully, only to be followed by a much older voice grumbling to the teacher, the door between them muffling his words.

“I apologize again for this predicament my students have found themselves in,” was Takeda’s quick reply. “Thank you very much for all of your help.”

“Now, I’ve gotta take out the hinge pins in order to get the door off, which means I’ve gotta use a hammer. Don’t cause a fuss,” the janitor explained gruffly to you and Sugawara, who he clearly felt were wasting his time by being stupid enough to find yourselves stuck in a storage closet.

That was all the warning you got as a loud, pounding noise could be heard and the door began to shake as the janitor began to hammer at the bottom hinge. Both of you jumped in surprise at the suddenness of the janitor’s efforts but an eagerness soon took its place. Sugawara was beginning to fidget where he stood as the hammering came to a stop, the first pin having been removed.

“Two more,” the janitor told you, his tone short. He began to work on the second pin, but his actions came to a sudden halt, confusing both of you. You could see the tension working its way back into Sugawara’s body as he clearly began to worry that their waning time in the closet was about to prolonged. The janitor’s voice then called out to someone on the other side of the door. “What’d you say?”

“I asked what all this racket is about!” the infuriated voice of the vice principal repeated himself now that he was no longer being drowned out by the janitor’s hammering.

“Oh no,” you murmured, your face burning as you buried it in your hands. It was bad enough that the whole volleyball club seemed to be involved, along with the janitor and one of your teachers, but _the vice principal?!_

All of this because you had wanted to avoid a fellow student who happened to be a bit high-maintenance. You were mortified. This couldn’t get any worse.

“Sawamura-kun?” the vice principal asked in confusion as he came to join the large group taking up the hallway and there was a long pause. “Why is it that whenever there's a problem, it always seems like the volleyball club is at the center?”

The question was dry and the silence that followed was deafening.

“Is anyone going to explain why half the volleyball team is congregating in the hallway and our janitor is taking a door off its hinges?!” he shouted angrily and you found yourself focusing on the fact that at least it was only _half_ of the volleyball club that was here to witness your humiliation.

“Ah, please forgive us, sir,” Takeda quickly interjected before anyone else could think to answer. “Two students are stuck in one of the storage closets.”

“Students…?” the vice principal repeated in disbelief at what he was hearing.

“Yes, sir,” Takeda answered sheepishly and there was another pause. You could only imagine what his face looked like.

 _“What students?!”_ he finally shouted furiously, having digested the situation fully.

“Ahh...” Takeda hesitated, nervous on his students’ behalves for whatever punishment would be waiting for them now that the vice principal was involved.

“Don’t do it, sensei,” you half-heartedly pleaded to yourself, but it was an exercise in futility. Even if Takeda did refuse to tell the vice principal, it’s not like you could stay in this closet forever. It also didn’t help that with half of the volleyball team waiting for them, the list of students who could be in the closet was instantly narrowed down.

“Sugawara Koushi and [Surname] [Name] from Year Three,” Takeda answered and both of you dropped your heads simultaneously in dread as your names were listed.

“Why were they in there in the first place?!” was the infuriated reply and you shared a guilty look with Sugawara. This was another question that received no reply, only this time it seemed that the vice principal was insistent on getting one. _“Well?!”_

“Ummm, well, we were just, uh...looking for a...broom?” you offered, flinching at both the flimsy excuse and the way your upspeak clearly gave you away and Sugawara covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head in exasperation. You could hear a few stifled laughs from the other side of the door and felt your cheeks warm as a result.

“Look, can I finish this?” the janitor interrupted the conversation and you sent up a silent prayer. The vice principal must have made some sort of gesture because the banging started up again, stopping briefly as the second pin was removed before starting again with the third hinge.

When the final pin was removed, the janitor carefully began to maneuver the door from its frame and both you and Sugawara squinted as the closet was filled with the light that was streaming in from the large windows on the opposite side of the hallway. You heard Sugawara take in a deep breath and knew that to him it felt like freedom.

As your eyes adjusted to the light, you took in the large group huddled together in the hallway and as you saw their expressions, your brow furrowed in confusion. Takeda and the man whose voice you hadn’t been able to put a face to—he was blonde and wearing a tracksuit—were standing together wearing identical looks of shock. The vice principal seemed to be at a loss for words, opening and closing his mouth at the sight.

The expressions on the faces of the volleyball club members were just as varied. Daichi looked startled, clearly surprised by what he was seeing. Asahi was blushing furiously and pointedly looking up at the ceiling, another boy with seaweed green hair and freckles copying his actions. There was a short brunet with a streak of blond standing with a boy with a shaved head and both were staring at them with wide eyes as comically large grins grew on their faces. Then there was a short red-head who was hiding behind the boy with the shaved head as he peeked out to look at the vice principal, clearly trying to avoid the man’s attention and ire for whatever reason.

The janitor was the only one who seemed to be acting like this was all business as usual as he turned to you and Sugawara.

“Get out so I can put the door back,” he ordered, breaking the tense silence and snapping everyone from their stupor. You and Sugawara quickly began to pick up their belongings from the floor, you making sure not to forget the sweater that had dropped down when the door had been removed.

It was as both of you stood up once you had your stuff that you looked at each other and froze, finally seeing what had caused such a reaction from everyone.

You looked a mess. Your hair, mussed from your fruitless efforts to pull it up, was in disarray. Your cheeks were flushed from both the stuffiness of the closet and your embarrassment at having such a big audience to your humiliation. But what was the most damning piece of evidence was your shirt, your sweater absent due to it having been caught in the door; you had unbuttoned it to cool down, but it was only in the light of the hallway that it was evident how low you had undone it. You were now giving everyone in the hall a perfect view of your chest along with the lavender colored bra that was peeking out from your wrinkled shirt.

Sugawara was even worse. He had run his hands through his hair and gripped onto it so tightly at times that it was now sticking up in every which way. As you took in the sight of it, you cringed at the fact that there was a term that perfectly encapsulated his hair’s appearance—sex hair. His face was even redder than yours and his uniform shirt was crumpled up in his hand as you had removed it for him.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. No, the thing that sealed the nail in the proverbial coffin, the thing that would serve to contradict any claims you could make that this wasn’t what it looked like— _which it really wasn't!_ —was the lipstick.

It hadn’t even occurred to you that you had been wearing it; it was something you wore everyday. You had a vague recollection of having absentmindedly touched it up before you left class, which would explain why it had left such vibrant marks against his pale skin. And the marks were _vibrant_. Your pink lipstick had left a clear map of everywhere your lips had been—leaving a trail from his own lips across his cheek up to his ear before trailing along his jaw and finally down to his neck.

As you took in his appearance, your face began to grow even hotter than it already was. You _had_ made the mistake of thinking this situation couldn’t get any worse, hadn’t you? You buried your face into the sweater you were holding and prayed that the floor would open and swallow you whole—anything to disappear from this moment.

“Don’t worry,” the janitor suddenly interjected as he rolled his eyes. “You’re not the first kids to be caught in a closet like this at this school.”

He then sent a very pointed look to the blond-haired man standing with Takeda and the man froze. The two boys who had been grinning at the sight in front of them burst into a fit of laughter, only to stop immediately as they found themselves on the receiving end of three deadly glares from Sugawara, Daichi, and the man you could only assume was their coach. You managed to lift your face from your sweater and offer him a weak smile in thanks. It quickly dropped from your lips as he continued.

“You _are_ the first that have ever needed the hinge pins to be removed in order to get out,” he mentioned and the two boys descended into laughter again, this time their need to laugh unhindered by the glares they were still receiving. “Now get out of here.”

You and Sugawara quickly obeyed him and moved from the closet, you pulling your sweater back on in a wasted attempt to look even halfway decent. Sugawara shoved his uniform shirt into his bag, hoping that if some of the evidence was out of sight then it would mean none of this had happened.

The janitor quickly got back to work on replacing the door, ignoring everyone else as he began to mutter to himself that this job was more trouble than it was worth. You and Sugawara stood side-by-side in the middle of the hallway, your heads hung low in shame and humiliation as you waited for the axe to drop and put them out of your misery.

“Ah, Ukai-kun, maybe we should resume practice,” Takeda suggested carefully, his eyes flitting from the coach to the volleyball team members to Sugawara and you and then to the vice principal, who still seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Hm?” he asked, a hint of a smirk having appeared on his face, and he nodded once he registered Takeda’s words. “Right. Everyone back to the gym!”

“But—” the boy with the shaved head began to protest only to be cut off as Daichi grabbed onto the back of his collar and pushed him forward down the hall. The others were quick to follow suit, Ukai bringing up the rear.

“Don’t worry,” he grinned down at the grey haired setter, clapping a hand on his shoulder as he passed him by. “We’ve all been there. Reminds me of my time here as a student.”

Sugawara’s embarrassment somehow managed to grow even worse and you had apparently heard what had been said because you suddenly buried your face back in your hands. As the volleyball team finally disappeared around the corner, you grew anxious all over again. The only buffer between yourself and the vice principal’s wrath was Takeda. The janitor who had proved to be a quasi-ally during this nightmare had finished putting the hinge pins back where they belonged and was making his own way back in the direction he had came from.

“You two,” the vice principal finally uttered, pointing meaningfully at the two of you. He then pointed down the hallway after the janitor towards where his office was located. “Both of you, in my office, _now_.”

“Yes, sir,” You and Sugawara both murmured simultaneously and followed his order.

“Takeda-sensei,” they heard the vice principal turn to address the teacher. “You might as well come, too.”

“Yes, sir,” was the quick reply and both men began to follow both of you to the executioner’s block.


	2. The Fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this written for a bit but was hesitant to post it because I don't love it all that much. Hopefully you like it more than I do?

The tension was thick as you and Sugawara anxiously stood side-by-side in front of the vice principal’s desk with Takeda standing next to the bald man who was seated at it. The vice principal’s elbows were resting on the desk’s surface and his fingers were steepled as he observed the two of you before him. His direct gaze caused you to shift uncomfortably as you waited for the silence to be broken.

“One of you,” the vice principal finally began, pointing between you and Sugawara. “Explain. _Now_.”

You bit your lip nervously and shared a look with Sugawara, which turned out to be a mistake as you took in his appearance all over again and blushed furiously. He had made no effort to wipe off the lipstick smudges on his skin, letting you know that he had yet to realize that he was so openly wearing the evidence of your...indiscretion. You quickly looked back at the vice principal who was still waiting for an answer and cleared your throat.

“Sir, this is all my fault. I’m very sorry,” you started to explain and gave a very deep bow, Sugawara immediately quickly copying your actions. “This was all just an accident. I was talking to Sugawara-san when I saw someone who I was trying to avoid. I pulled Sugawara-san into the closet with me so that we could hide and my sweater got caught in the door and jammed it. I also didn’t realize that he was extremely claustrophobic and it caused him to panic.”

As you told the vice principal and Takeda what had caused such chaos, you felt a renewed sense of embarrassment at how you had been the cause of this entire predicament. If you had just been willing to face Yamamoto then you wouldn’t be standing here with Sugawara anxiously awaiting your imminent punishment.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” you continued, your voice laden with shame. “None of this was intentional. I didn’t pull Sugawara-san into that closet for any...illicit purposes.”

You felt your face heat up yet again at the euphemism and the vice principal raised an eyebrow.

“The lipstick would say otherwise,” he dryly pointed out and your blush intensified. In your periphery, you could see the confused reaction from Sugawara at the vice principal’s words. He raised the back of his hand to his lips and rubbed them quickly before looking back at his skin. When he saw the pink smudge that was left behind, he let out a small sound of mortification and began to turn bright red as he realized how much lipstick must be on his skin and that everyone had seen it.

“Um, that just...ah...happened,” you muttered, eyes now fixed on the floor.

“Sensei, may I explain the lipstick?” Sugawara interjected, causing your head to shoot up in surprise so you could look at him. His voice was calm despite the profound embarrassment he was feeling. The vice principal made a gesture indicating that Sugawara should continue. “As [Surname]-san said, I have a very bad case of claustrophobia and was having about to have a panic attack. I was beginning to hyperventilate and [Surname]-san took the initiative to calm my breathing by surprising me with a kiss.”

The vice principal gave Sugawara a long look and you were unable to guess what he was thinking.

“And it, um, worked...” Sugawara trailed off, unsure of what else to say but desperately wanting both the vice principal and Takeda to understand the situation fully.

There was a heavy silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity as the vice principal mulled over the explanation he had just received. He then sighed heavily and dropped his hands to desk.

“I think the humiliation you both have experienced is a fitting enough punishment for you two. Especially with the way word travels amongst teenagers,” he finally said and both of your jaws dropped slightly in disbelief at the lack of a punishment. “However, this is a school, _not_ a love hotel.”

You couldn’t help the squawk of horror that escaped you and you had to keep yourself from burying your face in your hands. Sugawara’s eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates and his face was just as red as yours at both the vice principal’s phrasing as well as the knowledge of what exactly _happened_ in a love hotel. He was thankful that his embarrassment kept his mind from dwelling for too long on the idea of you and him visiting such an establishment together.

“If this happens again then the consequences will be _severe_ ,” he emphasized and paused for a long moment to ensure his words sunk in. “Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir,” was your immediate shared reply and you both bowed again to the vice principal.

“You’re dismissed,” the man instructed and you and Sugawara hastily made your exit, soon followed by Takeda. However, before he could fully leave the office, Takeda turned back to the vice principal.

“Thank you very much for your leniency, sir,” Takeda said, bowing to the older man in gratitude and the vice principal leaned back in his seat with a dismissive wave.

“They’re both excellent students and this is the first time either of them has been in here for any sort of disciplinary reasons,” the vice principal reasoned before a slightly dark look flashed across his face as he seemed to remember something. “Even _with_ all the trouble the volleyball team seems to cause.”

“Ah, I apologize for that as well, sir,” Takeda quickly replied with another bow and the older man appeared to refocus on their original topic of conversation.

“Not to mention their explanation is laughable enough that I’m inclined to believe them. I highly doubt this whole thing was the result of any improper motives,” he continued and Takeda made a noise of agreement at the explanation. However, knowing that the man’s patience had already been tested enough by the afternoon’s events, he quickly hurried from the office and closed the door behind him. As he entered the hallway, he was then confronted by you and Sugawara bowing deeply to him, taking him slightly by surprise.

“Sensei, I’m so sorry about this whole mess,” you rushed out from your bowed position. “Thank you for all your help. Please don’t let this affect your opinion of us.”

Takeda smiled softly at the both of you, smiling at how you had managed to cause such a whirlwind in so little time.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured you as you both stood straight. “I understand that neither of you intended for any of this to happen. You both have handled yourselves admirably in this...odd situation. And you are just teenagers after all. ”

You and Sugawara blushed at his words but returned his smile gratefully.

“Now, Sugawara-kun, maybe you should skip practice and head home? I’m sure everyone will understand,” he suggested and Sugawara quickly shook his head in response.

“No, I’m fine,” he answered. “I’d _like_ to practice.”

“Oh, well then. Alright,” he smiled and turned to you. “[Surname]-chan? Are you okay?”

You started slightly as Takeda addressed you to inquire about your wellbeing. You bit your lip before dropping your head and covering your eyes with your hand.

“I'm just so embarrassed,” you mumbled and even though her face was obscured by your hand and your hair that had fallen forward, Takeda knew that you were turning red for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Sugawara was looking off to the side uncomfortably, his fingers tightly gripping onto the strap of his bag.

“Cheer up. We all have embarrassing moments. It might take awhile, but I promise that one day you’ll look back on this and laugh,” he told you and when you looked up at him through your fingers he offered you another smile, which you returned with a small one of your own.

“Thank you, sensei,” you replied and the teacher nodded before waving to the two of you and heading back towards the faculty room where he had a stack of quizzes waiting to be graded on his desk. Desperately wanting to spare the you both even further embarrassment, Takeda made sure to wait until he was out of earshot before he started to laugh as he reflected on the afternoon’s events.

* * *

You didn’t think you’d ever experienced a silence as awkward as the one between you and Sugawara as you walked out of the school. You were desperate to break the silence and say something, but had no idea what. From the way Sugawara kept glancing at you, he was apparently feeling the same.

Your internal struggle came to an end when you reached the point where your paths would diverge—Sugawara’s off to the gym and yours to your home where you could hide under your blanket and pretend like none of this had happened.

“I’m going this way,” Sugawara said, pointing to the left as you both came to a stop.

“Practice, right?” you asked unnecessarily, your eyes continually dropping from his down to the ground as you found yourself unable to hold his gaze for too long. You fiddled with the strap of your bag in an attempt to focus on something other than the awkwardness of this moment. Sugawara simply nodded in return and you debated with yourself about what words were appropriate for a situation like this.

“Ummm,” you finally settled on and internally cringed. Of all the words in the world, _that_ was what you ended up with? “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You looked at Sugawara helplessly and he seemed to take pity on you because the awkward expression on his face softened and he gave you one of his trademark Sugawara smiles that had always left you feeling slightly warm.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he answered and you bit your lip as you nodded. He gave you a parting wave before heading off, leaving you to watch after him anxiously.

You let out a frustrated groan at your sudden social ineptitude and ran a hand over your face in aggravation. You couldn’t just leave it at that. With a deep breath, and before you could lose your courage, you shouted out to him before he could get too far.

“Suga!”

He spun back around in surprise as you walked towards him, closing the distance between you and him until you were only a few feet apart. He felt a creeping sense of dread sneak up on him when he saw what he interpreted to be regret on your face.

“I’m really sorry,” you finally said, your voice small. “I didn’t know you were claustrophobic.”

He blinked in surprise at the fact that it was trapping him in the closet that you were upset over rather than kissing him—and he found himself relieved.

“You didn’t know,” he agreed with a friendly smile, letting you know in such few words that his forgiveness was unnecessary and your shoulders sagged as it felt like a weight had been lifted from them.

“Thanks,” you murmured shyly and now that you were able to see Sugawara without feeling a crushing sense of guilt, you took in his appearance and blushed again. When he saw your reddening cheeks, his brow furrowed in a silent question. “Um, you still have...my lipstick...on you.”

His face turned beet red.

“Oh,” he squeaked and began to rub his mouth with the back of his hand.

Something about him being just as embarrassed as you were helped to put you at ease and you gave him a soft smile before digging into your backpack until you were able to pull out a small pack of makeup remover wipes.

“Here, let me.”

You took out a wipe and hesitantly stepped closer to him so that you could gently take hold of his chin. It was all you could do to keep from turning red again as you carefully began to wipe away the smeared lipstick from his lips and you tried to stop thinking about _how_ your lipstick had ended up covering so much of his skin. When you used your hold on Sugawara’s chin to tilt to his face to the side so that you could better clean his cheek and jaw, you saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed at your touch.

Every swipe of the makeup wipe on his skin made him hyper aware of how your movements now were mirroring the path your lips had taken earlier. When you moved to wipe away the lipstick on the side of his neck, he made sure to keep his eyes open to prevent himself from dwelling on how it had felt when you had sucked the skin there. As your fingers holding the wipe brushed along that same spot, he found himself biting his bottom lip and fighting the urge to let his eyelids fall shut.

However, he couldn’t help himself as he began to fully reflect on what it felt like to kiss you. It was something that he had been wondering about for awhile but the reality of doing so far exceeded his imagination. He knew that having been able to hear the wanton sounds you made and feel your soft curves pressed against him would only spur his hormone-driven fantasies. He suddenly found himself feeling very grateful that you were unable to read his thoughts and breathed a sigh of relief when you were finally finished and dropped your hands.

“There. Much better,” you smiled and he cleared his throat slightly awkwardly.

“Well, at least after all this Yamamoto-san will stop trying to ask you out,” he offered, making you laugh softly before biting your lip.

“Do you really think people are gonna find out about this?” you asked and he sighed.

“I think some of my teammates have very big mouths and that somehow they’ve probably already managed to spread the word,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes as he remembered the looks on Nishinoya’s and Tanaka’s faces.

“Well, I guess there are worse people I could be rumored to have spent an afternoon with in a closet,” you teased, making him light up before you gave him another shy smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Suga.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he repeated and you turned from him and began to walk away, leaving him alone with his thoughts. His small smile quickly fell from his face as he began to wonder what kind of reception he would receive when he finally joined practice. Even he knew it was too optimistic to hope that this whole incident would remain unmentioned and would never be brought up again

* * *

“What am I doing here?” you muttered to yourself frantically as you leaned against one of the pillars that stood outside the gym where you could hear the sounds of equipment being put away and shoes squeaking against the wood. You rubbed your forehead and and scrunched up your eyes as you continued to grumble to yourself about the stupidity of your decision to come back to school just to talk to Sugawara when you would be seeing him tomorrow anyway.

You suddenly straightened up and faced the entrance to the gym when you heard the sound of footsteps approaching and your heart began to pound nervously in your chest as you waited for Sugawara. However, the first face that greeted you was neither Sugawara nor one of the boys who had been present this afternoon. It was a tall, blond boy wearing glasses who barely seemed to register your presence as he passed you.

Your relief was short-lived as his friend came quickly after him—the boy with the freckles from this afternoon. The boy froze when he saw you and his cheeks slightly reddened as you made eye contact. You gave him a sheepish wave, which he hesitantly returned before focusing his attention on the blond he was already a good distance away and running after him wordlessly.

Okay, that wasn’t so bad. One down, six to go. Maybe the embarrassment wouldn’t kill you.

However when the blond haired volleyball coach was the next to leave, you froze. You could handle teenaged boys your own age and knew how to put them in their places when necessary. An adult on the other hand...

The man—their coach—raised an eyebrow when he saw you standing there and you blushed furiously under the older man’s gaze. He then rolled his eyes before turning back to the gym and leaning his head in.

“Sugawara!” he called out. “You’ve got a visitor!”

Without waiting for a response, he turned back around and continued on his way. You weren’t sure whether to be thankful or annoyed because while he saved you from having to wait until Sugawara could stumble upon you waiting for him, you were sure the interest of the rest of the team had also been piqued.

“Ah, to be a teenager,” you heard him sigh to himself as he passed you and you knew that you were blushing all over again. Surely there was a limit to how many times the human body could blush.

Thankfully you didn’t have time to dwell for long on your embarrassment when Sugawara appeared in the doorway. His eyes widened in surprise before he walked towards you.

“Hey. I thought you left?” he asked curiously.

“I did,” you nodded slowly. You then took a deep breath in order to quickly rush out your following words. “I just, I got halfway home and realized there was something I wanted to say to you and it couldn’t wait because I didn’t want to chicken out so I came back because I wanted you to hear it.”

To Sugawara’s credit, he only looked mildly perplexed at your sudden and hurried explanation.

“Okay,” he said amiably and you forced yourself to look him directly in the eye, wanting him to know that you meant every word that was to follow.

“I don’t want you to think that I usually do... _that_. You know, just make out with guys in closets whenever I get the chance,” you then hesitated, glancing off to the side before forcing your gaze back to meet his. “Only with you.”

Sugawara looked dumbfounded at your admission, having been fully taken by surprise. But before he could gather his wits and suggest that you go out, you took the initiative upon yourself to do so, surprising him again.

“And I would like to go on a proper date with you,” you affirmed, an intense look of determination on your face. “Preferably without the closet, the panic attack, or the audience.”

Sugawara couldn’t stop the full throated laugh that left him at your words. When his laughter finally died down, he saw that you had an amused grin on your face as well.

“I didn’t realize that when sensei said we’d look back and laugh that he was referring to a few hours in the future,” you observed, making him laugh again and you let out a laugh of your own. It took a few moments, but once your laughs and giggles had calmed down, you continued to smile at each other stupidly.

“Well?” you prodded shyly before teasingly poking his chest with your forefinger. “Are you gonna take me out?”

“Yes,” he replied firmly and your smile somehow managed to grow even wider.

“Okay then,” you nodded.

“Okay then,” he repeated in agreement and you both seemed to be at a loss for what to say next until your smile suddenly grew slightly mischievous.

Before he could wonder why, you had grabbed onto the front of his white t-shirt and pulled him to you so that you could press your lips to his for the second time that day. However, this time it only took him a split second to figure out what was happening and he smiled as he returned your kiss. His lips easily mirrored your movements and he wasted no time deepening the kiss as he rested one hand on your waist and buried one in your hair, which was still slightly messy from this afternoon.

 His grip on your hair tightened slightly, his nails scraping against your scalp and your toes curled in your shoes as a shiver went down your spine. You instinctively pulled him closer, not that there was much room to do so in the first place. You took his bottom lip between your teeth, nibbling gently as you pulled back until it popped from your mouth. He seemed to appreciate your action from the way he crashed his lips back onto yours hungrily and you filed away that snippet of information for future reference.

 All of a sudden, the sound of someone whistling followed by cheers broke through the haze that had descended over you and Sugawara and it was as if cold water had been thrown over you, causing the both of you to freeze.

You slowly pulled away from Sugawara and he could see how red your face had turned—a sight he had become incredibly familiar with this afternoon. He looked at the entrance of the gym, expecting to see Tanaka and Nishinoya at the center of the trouble, maybe Hinata might be there if he had been caught up in the excitement. What he did not expect was for every member—minus Tsukishima and Yamaguchi who had already left—to be peeking out from the doorway and for those who didn’t fit to be looking out the windows. Even Kiyoko was looking on at the spectacle with the largest smile he’d ever seen on her face

His face grew hot at what they had all just witnessed and he let go of you and took a step back in an futile effort to preserve even a shred of modesty. He sent them all a glare, making sure to particularly single out Daichi, who as captain should have had better control over the team. However, Daichi was too busy looking smug to be affected by Sugawara’s withering look.

Sugawara’s silent scolding of his teammates was interrupted when you pressed a final, chaste kiss upon his lips despite the audience. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden gesture and looked at you to see that your face had gotten even redder since he had first turned away. The new round of applause only fueled your blush.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you told him forcefully through your embarrassment and he nodded dazedly. You gave him a bashful smile and then you headed off, leaving him to stare after you with a dreamy expression. You glanced back at him over your shoulder but turned around quickly when you saw that he was still looking.

“[Name]-chan!” Kiyoko called out, startling everyone. Sugawara had only just turned around to look at her in surprise when she was already racing past him to catch up with you before you could get too far. As soon as she reached you, you looped your arm through hers and you began to talk amongst yourselves and burst into a fit of giggles just before turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

Sugawara’s shocked expression slowly morphed into one of pure happiness and he found himself softly laughing to himself in disbelief. It was only when he heard the joyous cheering of his teammates that he finally turned around to face them, only to suddenly find himself at the bottom of a pile as Nishinoya and Tanaka jumped on him in their excitement. As annoyed as he wanted to be by their over excitement, it was hard when he could still feel his smiling lips tingling from the way they had been pressed against yours.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Positive affirmation for this one would really help drown out some of the negativity I'm feeling towards it. I'd really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> Help cure my loneliness (and get updates, ask questions, make requests, etc.) by following me on [Tumblr](http://melremade.tumblr.com).


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